Ever had a Dr. mad at you?

[KBLOWE831]

How do you deal with it. At work this week, it was overwhelming crazy. I got a pt right after I took one pt to the unit. At my hospital, we are using computer charting and get orders on the computer as well. Some doctors still write orders in the chart as well. Well I didn't even realize I needed to initiate any orders on my pt all day and the doctor came up and was livid, called my boss, and everything. My boss wasn't mad, she just told me to go apologize and learn from it. I cried all the way home.

Anyone have similiar experiences you want to share with me?

[cienurse]

I had a Medical Director once who was not doing his job. The people at the Corporate level decided that they were going to hire someone else and give this doctor a 30 day notice. I, as the Director of Nurses, only related to this man at monthly quality meetings and if any issues arose on the units. My input, however, was not sought out when the decision was made to replace him. In fact, I had no idea that it was happening until he had received his 30 days' notice. This Medical Director stormed into my office and screamed at me, saying I had been a "two-face" by not telling him what was about to happen to him and being nice to his face. He would not hear any explanation I would give him and stormed off. Fast forward 2 years, in which I had transferred to another facility within the company but was back at the previous one for a company meeting, where this doctor was still an attending physician. I passed him in the hallway and said, "Hello Dr._____." He looked at me and asked if I had ever worked at that building before. When I told him I had been the previous Director, his face got all red and he said, "That's right! You're the b....... who stabbed me in the back!" Wow, you jerk! It's been 2 years-get over it! And I didn't even do anything!!

[FurBabyMom, MSN, RN]

Yes, sometimes orders get missed like this. This is one thing that drove me CRAZY working on a med surg unit - that midlevels and physicians were supposed to put their own orders in CPOE and NOT on the chart, the refusal to put orders in CPOE... If I encountered an angry doc about a missed order, I would apologize, state the 'fix' for it and usually explain what happened (usually that order XYZ was written but when I picked patient ABC up at X time it had not been signed off/entered etc but I have fixed it). This seems to satisfy most. Apologize/own it, and move forward trying to keep it from happening again.

Where I worked as a med surg RN, we had LPNs as floor nurses with an RN covering them (sometimes an RN with their own assignment others just the charge RN without an assignment). I ALWAYS checked my patients charts during report/handoff and any patients off unit for whatever reason I checked when they returned - and checked again later in the shift - not usually an issue on nights since most docs didn't round overnight...

I can't count the times I called and woke docs or PAs/NPs up over what may have been little things but had potential to be big things, so I could document their refusal to give new orders and that they had in fact been notified. Oh well. If they don't like it, they should admit to an acute care facility and should find someone else to carry the call pager. At first I apologized for my bothering them, but one of my more experienced nurses was 100% right when she told me not to apologize for doing my job. Cause that was what I was doing. I would rather have a doc upset at me over nothing (ie getting too much information from me) than upset I should have called and didn't.

Lol, one of my favorites - we had a neurologist and a neurosurgeon who - didn't agree over regarding SCDs v TEDs on their inpatients. They'd change the orders on eachother more times than there are green apples. It was kind of comical. The neurologist never got mad at the floor RNs for following the other doc's orders, she just got mad at him for writing the orders (she just changed the order...). The neurosurgeon, however, got very angry when we'd be following the neurologist's orders. He would yell and such, but the way I handled him was I pulled up the active CPOE orders and showed him what I had to work with at that time for orders, stating he was welcome to change orders as he saw fit. Killed him with kindness...worked like a charm every time.

[T-Bird78]

My first doc was an ornery surgeon so he was mad at us all the time. He screamed and pointed his index finger in one nurse's face in front of the staff and patients for something she didn't even do (autoclave the wrong instruments in a surgical packet together). The other three nurses were trying to explain that we all did it but he wouldn't listen. Five minutes later he was back to normal. Docs get mad all the time with and without valid reason, just learn from it and make sure to check everything next time--he'll forget soon enough! And you won't be fired or lose your license.

[misava]

i think the question is more has anyone never had a doctor mad at them! there's this one doctor that is always ****** off if we call him in the night if it's not a life threatening emergency, even if it's something that needs to be addressed then! ie "look at the clock and tell me what time it is" though i also never see them face to face so they don't really know who i am! I have also been lectured by the NP at our place a few times!

live and learn.

[IndiCRNA]

PFFFFFFT! Apologize??? What for? He sneaks orders into the paper chart, refuses to let you know he put orders in a place you are unlikely to look and YOU have to apologize to HIM! I hope like heck you didn't do it. I would have told him to go jump in a lake (well not really since this is a family friendy forum we will stick to jump in the lake). He has NO RIGHT to demean you, yell at you, or critisize you. If he believs you have made an error then he can talk to your manager about it. Nurses don't work for physicians. We are not their employees, students, children, or subordinates.

To answer your question yes daily. It is the natural outcome of being a strong patient advocate.

[IndiCRNA]

My first doc was an ornery surgeon so he was mad at us all the time. He screamed and pointed his index finger in one nurse's face in front of the staff and patients

t

here's this one doctor that is always ****** off if we call him in the night if it's not a life threatening emergency, even if it's something that needs to be addressed then! ie "look at the clock and tell me what time it is"

If I encountered an angry doc about a missed order, I would apologize,

I am completly shocked that there are so many nurses out there who encourage this bad behavior in physicians by tolerating and even apologizing for it. Shocked and sad.

[tewdles, RN]

Yup...after more than 3 decades of nursing practice you can imagine that I have had pretty much everyother discipline in health care angry with me at one time or another.

It happens. We live to practice another day.

If you were in the wrong, apologize. If not, take a deep breath and keep on takin care of your patients.

[JZ_RN]

Yep, had one get mad when I documented my multiple attempts to basically get them to do their job and they said it was "unprofessional"... well no one would come back and ask me "why I didn't do what I needed to do" and if documenting that I did my job and had to keep trying is unprofessional then oh well!

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

Yes, I have had plenty of people mad at me..

New pt, expect new orders, look for them, make sure they are in the computer or place them in the computer. All pts in the hospital will have orders. Check for them often, check the chart often. Live and learn.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Wait until you get yelled at for something another nurse did or didn't do....ON ANOTHER SHIFT! love that one...

Yeah, we have one dr that makes my life a living hell. He bucks the protocol all the time for everything. EVERYTHING. Ugh..

I battle with him daily. I ignore the eye rolling, huffy sighs and say what I need to say.

Let it roll off your back. If it's something you did, then apologize and learn from it. Otherwise just give'm the bored look that says "Really?". They know they aren't able to get under your skin and might back off. Usually works for me.

[BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN]

When my brother and I were playing at an amphitheater one time, walking the backs of the seats- he tripped, and it busted/tore his nose. The doctor sewing him up was being really hateful with him(he wouldn't even try to numb it because he said their were too many nerves there to do any good. He was 5 years old.

The nurses had him "sheet wrapped" to prevent him from jerking-but he did. The doctor called him a name, and told him to "be still- or [you] would really have something to cry about! One of the Nurses said, "He's a child! If you don't want to do this and treat him like a little boy, you can go back to the sleep room and I will call another Doctor in!"

I bet it was rough for that Nurse for awhile, but I will never forget their kindness in helping my scared brother.

[edmia, BSN, RN]

My first doc was an ornery surgeon so he was mad at us all the time. He screamed and pointed his index finger in one nurse's face in front of the staff and patients for something she didn't even do (autoclave the wrong instruments in a surgical packet together). The other three nurses were trying to explain that we all did it but he wouldn't listen. Five minutes later he was back to normal. Docs get mad all the time with and without valid reason, just learn from it and make sure to check everything next time--he'll forget soon enough! And you won't be fired or lose your license.

No. I don't care what title a person has.

We work together in a professional setting and bullying and harassment is not acceptable. I will not stand for it nor will I walk around making sure "the Doctor" has everything set up the way he or she likes it. Be respectful and we will get along. Be rude and your boss will hear about it.

Unacceptable.